Losing weight and what I eat?

[Russ]

you need to eat 5-6 times a day, small meals.

dont eat 3 hours before your bedtime, and try to stick to protein. carbs are ok in small amounts especailly if you doing cardio, your body will gobble the carbs up and start burning fat.

get a heart rate monitor and find out what your burning zone is, stay in the zone aslong as you can while doing your cardio.

dont under-eat, too little calories and your body will go into starvation mode

if your serious about getting inshape and are willing to dedicate 90 days of healthy eating and around an hours excercise a day, i suggest you look at either p90x or Insanity workout

[gmarno]

Thanks for the tips Russ. I've not heard of either of those workouts, but I'll give them a quick look.

At the moment, I'm trying to get into something that I can live my life by, rather than doing a hardcode exercise regime.

I've got to the point with my cycling that it's something that I really look forward to and I can't see that changing any time soon. I'm generally doing an hour and a half of cycling 5-6 times a week, and 30 minutes weights 3-4 times a week which is giving me the results I'm after.

I'm also planning to do some martial arts later on in the year once I'm a bit fitter/trimmer.

Since I got my bike 4 years ago, I've never had a puncture. Of course on the one nice day we've had over the past 3 weeks, it's the one day I get a puncture 5 miles from home. Unfortunately the tyre levers I had in my bag just weren't up to the job so I had to come home, and then mess around going out to buy some decent levers.

Anyway, I'll be out there tomorrow as usual and I'm planning to put another 20+ miles on the clock.

[Russ]

its good that your cycling so far, but make sure your actually working hard enough to burn calories

good luck mate

[gmarno]

its good that your cycling so far, but make sure your actually working hard enough to burn calories

good luck mate

Thanks Russ I'm pretty sure that I'm working hard enough judging by the sweat patches when I get home

I checked today with my cycle computer and I'm averaging 12mph over 23 miles which seems okay considering I'm on a mountain bike with chunky tyres (and we've got some BIG old hills round this way). Saying that, I'm sure there is plenty of room for improvement on my speed so maybe that's the next goal to aim at. Maybe I can push that up to 14mph over the next month or two.

I did another 23 miles today Now where did I put those chocolate eclairs

[sniperdude]

yup ama going to brake out the bike soon too just doing about an hour cardio in the gym almost daily

you must not read to much into scales if you are building muscle too

well done mate your doing great

[gmarno]

First of all, thanks to everyone for their words of encouragement. It might sound stupid, but it's nice to have people who are watching my progress. It gives me that extra shot of will power when I'm tempted by something stupid, like that tea cake which was calling my name from the kitchen last night (mmmmmmm tea cakes)

This week has been a good one (as you can see from the updates). I've lost 3lbs this week which has taken me down to an even 15st. I've even had to put a new notch in my belt which was a good feeling as that's a physical sign that something is definitely happening I'm going to have to buy some new clothes (and break out some old favourites) before I go to Canada.

Yesterdays ride was a hard one. For some reason I decided it would be a good idea to do 23 miles with a load of books that I was taking back to the library in my backpack I don't even want to think what my bag weighed with my DSLR and other stuff in it as well. It's heavy enough at the best of times, but that was just ridiculous

The weights sessions have been going well and I'm almost up to 100 situps a day which is also another nice number. I started out doing 20 a day which shows how out of shape I was. Roll on 200 a day

I'm rather hoping that we're going to miss the snow that is forecast, but either way it's not going to stop me getting out there on my bike. Anyway, that's the progress, and I'll keep you all updated

[nibbler]

I'm built a bit like you I suspect and I weight about the same, and I'm the same height . NHS says I am obese. Ignore them

[gmarno]

Thanks Nibbler. I agree, I certainly wouldn't class myself as obese. It's not like people throw things or chase me with pitchforks as I walk down the street. I've just sneaked into the overweight category according to the BMI charts, but I'm pretty much ignoring them for now. I am still a fat b*stard though as my gut will testify That's all changing though which is good.

Okay, time for this weeks update.

It's been an odd week this week. I've not actually lost any weight according to the scales (though I must admit I'm a little suspicious of the scales at this point). I think the main reason for this is that I've just not been eating (or drinking) as well as I should have been.

I've had a few catch ups with different friends which resulted in a couple of beers here and there, and a take away or two. Obviously that's not going to help the cause, but that's life. My main meals also haven't really been ideal either; I seem to have creeped back to having large portions when I know I shouldn't

The good news is, the biking has been going well and I did my first 26 mile ride. I've decided to split my rest days to Weds and Sun as I find two days between exercise doesn't do me any favours. The weights are definitely paying off as well. I'm starting to notice a marked improvement in my muscle mass (I'm no Arnie yet, but any improvment is good) and tone so that's good news.

Anyway, I've not put any weight back on so I'll just have to make sure I'm extra good this week to keep the momentum up.

[M0nkeyb0Y]

don't trust the scales!

Have you tried a fat caliper, or even measuring round your waist, and keeping a log of those? I find that works better than just focusing on weight.

[TooNice]

I second the notion that at some point, you'll want to focus on body fat. If you are not used to using a caliper yourself, see if you can find the chance of getting a measurement by a professional. It may even be worth getting one of those body fat measuring scale. I should point out that those scale do not work equally well for everyone, I hear that it be off by a bit. However, you might be able to 'calibrate' your result by comparing it's result with the caliper readings. It turns out that in my case, what my Tanita scale says is pretty consistent with the average of three readings done with the caliper, so it saves me quite a bit hassle.

That said, I am inspired. Think I'll head to the gym in 30min

[TooNice]

[double post]

[gmarno]

don't trust the scales!

Have you tried a fat caliper, or even measuring round your waist, and keeping a log of those? I find that works better than just focusing on weight.

A tape measure was my next stop actually

I know it sounds like a typical excuse, but my scales seem to cause havoc with measuring my weight loss. That's why I've started to weigh myself every day (when I get up) and averaging it over the week.

I've seen 3lb differences between weigh ins (and that's within 20 seconds of each other), so I think it's either time to get a tape measure or some new scales My jeans are getting looser by the week so that's always a good indication.

I'll probably give the caliper a miss for now as there's still plenty of fat to come off. This week is all about getting my diet sorted out

[Prime]

NHS says I am obese. Ignore them

same here, and the missus' wii fit says the same, im 6ft and weight 15 stone (15.5 at xmas but xmas dinners arent the hardest to shift with a bit of cardio)
admittedly its annoying and i plan to lose more weight with my diet and cardio i've stepped up but i wont be dropping too much - once i reach a 'low' that im happy with, a big chunk will be put back on with pro mass - i just strongly dislike how things like the typical NHS table brands you as obese without taking into account personal features!

because im more interested in the way i look rather than what the scales tell me - 8 months ago i just took pictures of myself front and side profiles and i take the same shots every 2 months to see what i visually need to push harder with. If all goes to plan and im able to carry it on im going to blog it.

[merdat]

Your doing very well. I had a bug on New Year's day which levelled me for 3 days . Lost about half a stone although I have now put a bit back on due to bad practise - been doing a lot of cooking and sampling etc but still just under 14 st . Can't get out on bike yet as still a lot of ice about which makes it very dangerous atm. Thaw has set in but as some of the ice is still 8 inches thick it will take a bit of time to disappear. Keep up the good work there.

[nibbler]

same here, and the missus' wii fit says the same, im 6ft and weight 15 stone .

I got a quote from a wii fit too

[TooNice]

NHS says I am obese. Ignore them

i just strongly dislike how things like the typical NHS table brands you as obese without taking into account personal features!

Well, don't take it personally, they are not out there to brand you for a laugh, but they do need a quick and inexpensive way to provide an estimate that works for most people. But with all due respect, I don't think it is wise to ignore it completely. If you question what the BMI chart tells you then get your body fat measured (that's the proper measurement for obesity anyway). But to be honest, the BMI measurement allows for quite a big difference for their 'normal' range: for example 16kg for someone who is 5'10". And to go from 'just overweight' to 'obese', it takes another 16.5kg. It's just not something that can be easily explained for being big boned or having a broader shoulder. Chances are for all the 'unique features', you still have quite a bit of muscle and/or fat compared to the average person of the same height.